FamilyMart, Japan’s second largest convenience store chain, is considering partnering on a new business with Thailand’s CP and China’s CITIC, its president said.
The companies are looking at a range of opportunities beyond convenience stores, said Koji Takayanagi, CEO of FamilyMart
This will be driven by converting FamilyMart’s Circle K and Sunkus properties in Japan into more profitable FamilyMart ones, increasing store sales by 10-15 percent.
“There is plenty of room for growth,” he said of the company, which also runs supermarkets and general merchandise stores.
While FamilyMart is profitable in Taiwan and China, it is reviewing its loss-making businesses in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. “If we can get them to rally we will, but we cannot continue to pour in resources,” Takayanagi said.
While its rival, Japan’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, expands overseas, most recently in the United States, FamilyMart will remain focused on the Japanese market, Takayanagi said.
“It is easier to achieve results domestically and we know what we need to do,” he said.
Japan’s worsening labor shortage, which is leaving convenience stores scrambling to find workers to man tills and stock shelves, will force companies to adapt and innovate, he said.
Even the country’s declining birthrate and aging population does not phase Takayanagi.
“Even if the amount an individual eats declines… if we offer items with added value people will buy them.”
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